Leeds United: Let High Court rule on points penalty
By Phil Hay
LEEDS United have challenged the Football Association to allow the High Court to decide on the club's challenge against their 15-point deduction.
United dispatched a letter to Soho Square yesterday requesting a legal review of their case after expressing fresh concerns about the independence of senior officials at the FA.The demand was in the wake of the FA's promise of a "root and branch" review of the workings of the governing body after the sacking of England coach Steve McClaren on Thursday.
United chairman Ken Bates has made two previous applications to the FA, one directly to chairman Geoff Thompson, pleading for an assessment of the process which saw Leeds deducted 15 points by the Football League in August.
An independent commission rejected United's original grievance, and Bates claims his second approach to Thompson – highlighting perceived inconsistencies in the FA's first decision – was turned away by Simon Johnson, the Director of Corporate Affairs at Soho Square.
Johnson is though to be the same man responsible for confirming the failure of United's initial application.
Leeds also have long held concerns about the presence of Football League chairman Lord Brian Mawhinney on the FA board. Mawhinney sat alongside Thompson and FA chief executive Brian Barwick as McClaren's dismissal was confirmed this week.
Bates told the YEP: "We expect the FA to represent all parties equally. With this grievance we think they've failed to do so. Therefore we've asked that they allow the High Court to make a judgement.
"If the FA are happy with their procedure and the Football League's then they should be happy to agree to our request."

Yorkshire Post 23/11/07
Bates intends to stick around
By Ian Appleyard
LEEDS United chairman Ken Bates insists that he has no intention of selling his stake in the League One club.
Amid reports that former Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd is on the brink of a return to football with a 'northern club', Bates has underlined his determination to take Leeds back into the Premier League.
"There are plenty of would-be investors sniffing round Leeds United," he admitted. "It could be tempting to take the money and run.
"Let me assure you, that possibility is not even in the mind of (my wife) Suzannah and myself. "We are here to build not just Yorkshire's number one club, but one which will compete and take on the so-called greats, including Chelsea with Abramovich's millions," he stressed.
Bates has mades no secret of the fact that Shepherd could be an 'ideal partner' and the pair have a good friendship thanks to their work in football. Rumours that Shepherd, who banked over £37m by selling his shares in Newcastle, could be interested in Leeds first surfaced two months ago when he was spotted having lunch with Bates in the north east.
At the time, the Leeds chairman said: "We had lunch and agreed to keep in touch. He would like to get back in and I would like an investor so the two fit in."

Yorkshire Evening Post 23/11/07
No left back signing for Leeds United
By Phil Hay
Dennis Wise offered his squad at Leeds United a quiet vote of confidence last night by allowing the Football League's emergency loan deadline to pass without incident.
The market closed at 5pm yesterday afternoon, restricting any further transfers until January 1, but Wise stepped back from the negotiating table after deciding to put faith in the capabilities of the players.
The market closed at 5pm yesterday afternoon, restricting any further transfers until January 1, but Wise stepped back from the negotiating table after deciding to put faith in the capabilities of the players already recruited to Elland Road. Leeds had seriously considered the option of signing a new left-back after sending Jamie Clapham back to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of his three-month loan, but the lack of a suitable alternative did not come as a serious disappointment to United's boss. Academy product Ben Parker filled the position against Hereford United on Tuesday evening, and both Andrew Hughes and Radostin Kishishev are capable of switching from midfield if Wise requires a more experienced candidate on the left side of defence.
The settled situation is a calm contrast to last season, when Leeds recruited Tresor Kandol and Ugo Ehiogu in the lead up to the loan deadline while allowing Paul Butler and Neil Sullivan to exit Elland Road, and assistant manager Dave Bassett insisted United possessed the strength in depth to see them safely through to the January transfer window.
Bassett said: "Dennis was considering a couple of options but the squad is looking good as it is. We've just had a little spell where a few players were picking up injuries and suspensions at the same time, and that's when you wonder if it might be a good idea to add another couple.
"But as I said when I came here, if it isn't broken you don't fix it. Most of the lads who were out are coming back now and the team's done superbly well in the league this season."
Kishishev and Mark De Vries - both loanees from Leicester City - were ineligible for Tuesday's FA Cup first-round replay against Hereford, but the pair will return to contention for Sunday's league game against Cheltenham Town. As many as four other senior players - Alan Thompson, David Prutton, Jonathan Douglas and Manuel Rui Marques - could also return from illness, suspension or injury at Whaddon Road, and striker Tore Andre Flo appears to be on schedule to complete his recovery from another bout of foot surgery before Christmas.
The easing of Wise's selection problems have been tempered slightly by the loss of Casper Ankergren to a minor knee problem, but United's boss countered claims that his squad had shown signs of frailty during the past month.
Wise said: "You have to look at the players who are coming back. "Tore Andre Flo will be back very shortly, and Alan Thompson. David Prutton was missing (against Hereford), Jonathan Douglas was missing and Rui Marques was missing. When I get them back it will be totally different.
"If you look at those names and add them to the group, my squad's fine."
A run of six games in 17 days has contributed to United's loss of players, but their defeat to Hereford provided the unexpected blessing of nine days without a fixture after their clash with Cheltenham on Sunday. A sell-out crowd will greet United at Whaddon Road - the first time a league match at Cheltenham's stadium has sold out in advance - and striker Leon Constantine stressed the importance of a conclusive reaction after Leeds' midweek defeat.
The Elland Road club responded to their elimination from the Johnstone's Paint Trophy by Bury last week with a 2-1 victory over Swindon Town, and Cheltenham have won only two league games all season, pushing them towards the bottom of League One. Keith Downing's side will be relieved of bottom spot by the impending 10-point deduction hanging over Kevin Blackwell's Luton Town, who entered administration yesterday afternoon.
Constantine said: "We're going to have to show a reaction come Sunday. "We don't like losing games. To be honest, I don't like losing when we play in training. The mentality of the lads is really good and nobody came off the pitch (after the Hereford defeat) thinking we did ourselves any justice.
"The one positive is that the last two defeats have come in the cups and not the league, but with the way things have been going this season there's no reason why we shouldn't have done well in the cups. It's disappointing. You get used to winning and used to that buzz.
"We've got to pick ourselves up because Cheltenham's not going to be an easy game." Constantine supported Wise's claim that two cup defeats in the space of a week would not influence United's league form, saying: "I don't think you can read too much into it.
"There's no hiding the fact that the main aim is to climb the league. As long as we can keep on track with that then we're doing okay. But we don't want to let any complacency in."

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